8 Answers
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According to Wookiepedia, Anakin didn't have a father. While "virgin births" can and do happen in real life among many non-mammalian life-forms, all of them are daughters and are effectively clones of the mother (or twin sisters if you prefer).

Skywalker's mother, Shmi Skywalker, claimed that her son was conceived without a father, but could not explain how that had happened. It was the theory of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn that the will of the Force caused his birth. There is evidence to suggest that Skywalker's birth may have been engineered by the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis as part of an experiment in immortality.

And pursuant to rule 34:

If you are old enough, check out the March 1985 issue of Penthouse . Males under about 30 cannot tell them apart, while females of all ages surveyed can distinguish mother from daughter.

This is disappointing. When I was sill following thing around Star-Wars, there was a rumour that Palpatine was is father, without revealing any spoiler, lets say that would made thing more twisted.
– DavRob60Feb 5 '11 at 15:31

Technically Shmi never claimed that Anakin was conceived without a father she simply states that "there is no father" she then continues with "I carried him, I gave birth to him, I raised him, all on my own" now given Shmi's status as a slave it is quit likely that she was raped and that is how Anakin was conceived this explanation fits all the criteria of Shmi's actual statement Qui-Gon is the one who assumes that it was a virgin birth.
– The MandolorianMar 12 '16 at 7:09

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What’s the relevance of the bit about Penthouse? There aren’t any parthenogenic births among human beings, right? So it can’t be an issue featuring mother-daughter clones.
– AdamantAug 24 '17 at 17:27

In addition, although Darth Plagueis did attempt to influence the midichlorians to create the ultimate Sith weapon alongside Darth Sidious, the experiment was ultimately a failure, and the midichlorians, sensing the Sith's inherent malevolent intention, not only refused to do so, but in retaliation, conceived Anakin Skywalker in order to destroy the Sith once and for all.

An article over at secrethistoryofstarwars (take this link with a pinch of salt I have no idea how "canon" it is), stating early writings of the ROTS script actually had Darth Plagueis "manipulating midichlorians " to create life, thus creating Anakin.
– JaredOct 3 '12 at 0:43

I'd contend that a birth without a father is in all practicality the same thing as a virgin birth. The quality of the birth that is noteworthy is the lack of father, not the amount of sex the parent has had.
– aslumMay 29 '11 at 22:11

When writing The Phantom Menace, an answer was actually never planned by George Lucas, as it is simply echoing the story of Jesus Christ.

But in the first draft of Revenge of the Sith, when Palpatine tries to lure Anakin to the Dark Side and the young Jedi finds out that Palpatine is actually a Sith Lord, Palpatine tells him that he was the one who orchestrated the death of his mom.

In that same script, there is no mention of Darth Plageuis, but Palpatine tells Anakin that he fathered him through midichlorians in his mom.

This is interesting information, but since it's from first Draft, it never made to the final script AND it was contradicted by later publication, this cannot be considered Canon. But still interesting information (+1).
– DavRob60Mar 7 '12 at 14:45

The canon "answer" is that the Force itself caused Anakin to be conceived w/o explanation as to the biophysics involved. IMO, this has been ASSUMED since Shmi simply declares in Episode I that Anakin had no father, that she'd become pregnant w/o benefit of intercourse (poor Shmi, for all that grief and work she deserved at least one night of fun). This echoes the 'miraculous' conception of Jesus Christ. Likewise, following the script of Episode I doesn't preclude a biological father for Anakin, but also gives no clues as to the identity of said father.

There was a line in The Phantom Menace that was cut out of the original script in the scene where Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker are talking about Anakin's father that I personally found interesting:

SHMI: There was no father, that I know of... I carried him, I gave birth....I can't explain what happened.

This tells us that when Anakin was born, Shmi wasn't in a current relationship. By this statement, it could seem possible that Anakin could have had an actual father (but the line was cut out of the film).
However, the canon answer to this question is still The Force:

Skywalker was born in the year 41 BBY before moving to the Outer Rim planet Tatooine during the Age of the Republic. Although he had a mother, the slave Shmi Skywalker, the truth about his parentage was that Anakin had no father—leading Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn to suspect that Skywalker's conception was the work of the midi-chlorians.

Believed to have been conceived by the midi-chlorians, Anakin Skywalker was born to the slave Shmi Skywalker.

QUI-GON JINN: Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong with him, that much is clear. Who is his father?

SHMI: There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him, I can't explain what happened.

Recently, Star Wars has made some hints that it could have been Palpatine/Sidious who manipulated the midi-chlorians to create Anakin. The comic book, Darth Vader No. 25 seems to directly imply that Sidious created Anakin in a sequence on Mustafar.

"On Coruscant, PALPATINE completes his seduction of ANAKIN, who at first refuses to go over to the dark side-- until the Chancellor makes a startling confession:

DARTH SIDIOUS: I have waited all these years for you to fulfill your destiny... I arranged for your conception. I used the power of the Force to will the midichlorians to start the cell divisions that created you.

ANAKIN: I don't believe you.

DARTH SIDIOUS: Ahhh, but you know it's true. When you clear your mind, you will sense the truth. You could almost think of me as your father.

ANAKIN: That's impossible!

DARTH SIDIOUS: Nevertheless, you must decide.

This was cut from the final version of the film, most likely because it was too close to The Empire Strikes Back's parentage reveal between Vader and Luke. The only implication of the Sith manipulating Anakin's birth lies in the opera scene in the final film , where Palpatine remarks:

PALPATINE: Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life ... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying... He became so powerful . . . the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep.

This line is only an implication, not a direct fact, that Sidious could have been the apprentice in question that killed Plageuis. But later in the film, Sidious admits he doesn't know the secret to cheat death, which could imply he wasn't Plageuis's apprentice or was lying about how much he was taught by his dark master.

SIDIOUS: To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret.

It appears however, Disney is dropping hints that the Sith may have created Anakin through the Force by manipulating the midi-chlorians. But nonetheless, until confirmed, the canon answer is still The Force.

In the first movie Phantom Menace, when Anakin Skywalker is a boy, his mother said that he has no father. I was thinking Darth Maul — could Darth Maul be Anakin's father? It seems that when Anakin becomes a Sith as Darth Vader, his son Luke fights him. Maybe the father and son fight or sense one another in these films? Maybe Anakin's mother knew about Anakin's father turning to the dark side and becoming that Sith in the first movie.

Sorry, but Darth Maul has already got a well-established back-story. Plus, he is not a human, he is a Zabrak, so could not have been Anakin's father.
– NelliusMay 22 '11 at 18:33

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I always considered that statement to mean she was a widow, Annakin an orphan.
– jwentingMay 23 '11 at 11:52

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@jwenting The statement is "There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him ... I can't explain what happened." If she was a widow she'd be able to explain it pretty easily I think :P
– Matthew ReadSep 27 '12 at 20:19

If Anakin had a human father -- which, as pointed out, is unclear -- the best candidate is probably Count Dooku. Note that the fights between Anakin and Dooku in the second and third films of the prequel resemble the fights between Luke and Anakin in the second and third films of the original: the younger Jedi loses a hand in the second film duels, but turns the table in the third film and defeats the Sith in the third film, cutting off a hand -- and then is egged on by Palpatine to kill his defeated opponent. The differences are that Anakin cut off both of Dooku's hands and then killed his defenceless opponent, while Luke cut off only one of his father's hands (apparently the replacement for the one Dooku sliced off) and refused to kill the not-yet-helpless Vader.

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